


Imprisoned

by Mikill



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: AU, Angst, Brothers, Comedy, Comfort, Family, Family Feels, Fear, Gen, Gen Work, Heart-to-Heart, Hurt, Panic, Paranoia, Post-Avengers (2012), Revenge, Self-Harm, discussion of suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-11
Updated: 2018-12-15
Packaged: 2019-08-22 02:07:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16588724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mikill/pseuds/Mikill
Summary: His family does not care for him. He does not care for them. Those are the facts. Or at least, Loki thinks those are the facts. But then, strange things start to happen around his prison cell, Asgard is threatened, and Loki is forced to reevaluate.





	1. Stir Crazy

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> Summary: Prolonged incarceration can lead to prisoners becoming mentally unbalanced. Sometimes they even begin to imagine things. Loki knew this. He had seen it happen often enough. Perhaps it was happening to him as well. He had been in solitary confinement in Asgard's dungeon for 6 months, after all. Still, he could not shake the feeling that something was off about his guards. Was his mind playing tricks on him or was something more sinister at work?
> 
> This is set after Avengers and Loki has been imprisoned for 6 months.

Loki was pacing in his cell. His m- Frigga had just visited him. Her visits were the only thing he could look forward to these days. Apart from her visits, his life had become monotone over the last six months. Every day was the same. Dull, tedious – boring. Loki's mind strived for stimulation.

Of course, he could practice his magic – he sometimes entertained himself with his own illusions – and he had books. That was far more than what any of his fellow inmates were granted, but not enough to even begin to satisfy his intellect's thirst for mental stimulation.

A person of lesser intellect might have been able to feel content, but Loki was growing more restless and irritable by the day, beginning to occasionally snap at Frigga, which did not help his mood either. The only thing that might have even irked him more than the endless boredom was the fact that the walls of his "room" left him little privacy. It meant he could not give in to the ever-growing urge to smash his furniture to pieces. No, he could not, would not, give them the satisfaction of knowing how much he was struggling with his confinement.

So, he was pacing now. For, what must have been the millionth time, contemplating his options. The result of his musing was always the same: he did not have any options. Six months in captivity and he had not managed to find a flaw in the system that would allow him to escape.

He flung onto his bed with a sigh, grabbing one of the books Frigga had been able to organize him. He desperately wanted to tear it apart and throw it into a corner, but it was the only source of entertainment he had. He carelessly flipped it open and began to read.

But, after a while, he felt a strange change of energy in the room that sparked his interest. Which was not all together difficult – at this point even an insect crawling along the wall had little competition when it came to his attention.

The change of energy, he soon noticed, was most likely brought on by the changing of the guard. It happened in regular intervals and usually did not attract his attention. But this time, something was different. He could feel, it, sense it. Something was off. But, unable to extend his abilities beyond his cell, he could not quite figure out what had changed.

He kept on the façade of reading his book, but really observed the newcomers. As far as he could tell, they looked and acted the same way they always had. Not that he had ever payed them any attention before.

His instincts told him that something was off about the new guard that was standing closest to his cell. But he could not quite put his finger on to what exactly irked him about the man.

Even after an hour – or at least after what felt like an hour, it was hard to keep track of time in a windowless prison - of observing the new guard, who looked just like the regular guards, he could not discern what was really going on and what his instinct had noticed that his conscious mind was still trying to catch.

Maybe he was imagining things. But just as he had decided that observing them was a futile endeavor, he noticed something off about the guard's shadow. An illusion, his mind told him. Unlike Thor, who, after a thousand years around Loki and Frigga, still remained blissfully oblivious to what he believed to be cheap, useless tricks, Loki was too skilled not to notice an illusion when he saw one, although this one was as close to perfection as he himself had ever come.

His interest was soon replaced by a tingle of nervousness. Whoever this new person was, and Loki was sure that he was not a real guard, if taking out and replacing Æsir was his modus operandi, his intentions most likely weren't peaceful. And Loki knew that the goal was either to free a prisoner - or to kill one.

Hours went by with Loki observing and thinking, but nothing happened. Perhaps his mind was starting to play tricks on him and he had just imagined the small inconsistency in the guard's shadow? Maybe he was slowly losing his mind. He knew that it could happen to prisoners. Prolonged incarceration could lead to all kinds of insanity. He had just always believed that he would be stronger than those peons.

When he was about to abandon his suspicions, one of the guards – not the one he had observed, however - walked up to his cell. He did not face the God of Mischief. Instead, he stood next to his cell as if he were standing guard.

Loki got up from his bed – he had long since abandoned any hope of finishing his book.

"You are by far more perceptive than I had anticipated," the guard murmured, "not that it will save you."

"Who knows," Loki smiled mischievously, "I might surprise you, yet again. Who do I have the pleasure of talking to?"

At first, the guard did not answer. But then, "If you fail, if the Tesseract is kept from us, there will be no realm, no barren moon, no crevice where he can't find you. You think you know pain? He will make you long for something as sweet as pain," whispered the guard, echoing a promise from a long time ago. He said this barely moving, not even looking at the prisoner, just staring at the cell opposite of his own.

The Other, Loki thought. Perhaps he wasn't crazy after all. He did not know the extents of the Other's powers, but apparently, he was either a shapeshifter, able to possess other beings or, as unlikely as Loki thought it was, better at casting illusions than him. If his companion, who he had first noticed, was able to cast the illusion upon himself or whether the Other was disguising them both at the same time, he could not tell.

Loki's face showed only amusement. "Go ahead - attack me. Kill me. I'm not scared." And he truly wasn't. If the Other indeed attacked him, his deception would be revealed. The rest of the guards would sound the alarm. He had nothing to fear.

The guard, however, smirked as well. "A quick and painless death?"

Loki's smile faltered for a second. "Torture, then?" It did not make a difference. The guards would be alarmed all the same.

"Torture? Have you not listened? I am not planning to hurt you. Not physically, at least."

Loki's brow furrowed. "Some form of mental torture, then?"

"In a way," whispered the guard.

Loki's mind considered the different options the Other had. He could think of several, the most obvious being illusions. He could use visions to drive him crazy. This, of course, would not work on the trickster, and he had a feeling that his opponent knew this. Maybe he would at a later point break him out and Thanos would torture him?

Loki marveled at the different possibilities. There was too much information he was lacking to adequately prepare. He would just have to sit back and wait until the Other revealed more of his plan or made a mistake that would give it away.

So, he returned to his bed, grabbing a new book, trying as hard as he could to ignore the Other.

It worked, at first. But as the days passed, and the Other, as well as his companion, remained his stoic, unspeaking guard, he began to grow restless again. As there was nothing else to divert his attention, his imagination had started to paint the most gruesome forms of punishment in front of his inner eye. He had trouble falling asleep, knowing the Other was watching him at all times. He barely ate, not trusting the food the guards provided him with. He couldn't concentrate on his books, worrying that if he did not watch the guard at all times, he would fall victim to his vicious revenge. Instead, he began to pace his cell again.

But perhaps this was the plan. Drive him crazy, paranoid. But even though he was growing paranoid, he knew it was by far too lenient for any type of punishment Thanos and his lovely children would concoct.

Loki was soon proven right and the situation turned even worse. About a week after he had first noticed the Other's presence, he noticed that one of the other guards had been replaced as well. The man looked the way he always did, but Loki could feel the energy in the prison changing further.

Two days later, a fourth guard was replaced, and Loki knew that he had to do something, anything, or there would be no Æsir left and he would be completely without protection.

TBC


	2. Redemption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki gets a better understanding of the Other's plan and comes up with his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Self-harming behavior and suicidal thoughts are described in this chapter.
> 
> This chapter will be a lot darker than what I usually write.
> 
> If all of this does not bother you, read, enjoy and review :)

He couldn't just tell the guards. They wouldn't listen to him and even if they did, he knew how crazy he would sound.

No, he had to get the Other to make a mistake. If he revealed himself, the guards – the real guards - would have to react. There would be a fight, but the real guards were still the majority. And a fight would attract the attention of Thor and Odin, and no matter how much he despised them, he knew the Black Order, Thano's children, stood no chance against Odin.

If he wanted to trick the Other, Loki would have to use his greatest weapon - his silver tongue.

"I know what you're doing," Loki started quietly, so only the Other could hear. "You are playing mind games. You are trying to drive me crazy. I have to admit, for a while it worked." Perhaps this incorrect assumption would lead the Other to correct him, tell him of his real plan.

In no way did the Other show that he had heard what Loki had said. When Loki concluded that he wouldn't get an answer, the Other turned around to face him, smirking. "Merely a pleasant side effect, but not nearly a sufficient punishment. Believe me, by the end of it you will wish we had merely tortured or killed you."

Loki's blood ran cold, but outwardly he showed no reaction to the statement.

"I wonder why your mother hasn't visited you in the past week," the Other continued.

Cold dread washed over Loki. Had they hurt Frigga? Perhaps they had taken over Asgard already, killed everyone and were now just playing him… but no. Some of the guards were still themselves and they showed no signs of distress. If Asgard were in ruins, surely, they would show signs.

And Frigga - she only visited about once a week. The Other was just playing his games again.

"How unfortunate," Loki drawled. "Is that your plan? Kill my... family?" Loki laughed. "Not a great plan."

The guard raised an eyebrow, "Is that so?"

"In case you haven't heard... we are not on the best of terms. Have you not noticed my lack of visitors? They don't care about me. Why would they? They are not even really my family... They lied to me... I care as little about them as they care about me… I even tried to kill my brother... long story short, kill all of them - I really don't care. You'd be doing me a favor."

The Other smiled. "We'll see about that."

Loki slumped down on his bed, grabbing a book – by now he really wished he had something to hide behind besides books. Outwardly, he appeared unfazed. His feelings, however, told quite a different story.

He now had a pretty good feeling for what Thanos wanted. He wanted to get the Tesseract back, he wanted to destroy Asgard, and he wanted to punish Loki by having him watch all of it. And if he replaced enough soldiers with his own men, and waited for Odin to fall into Odinsleep again, he would succeed.

And this revealed some uncomfortable truths to Loki.

Almost two years ago, the revelation that Frigga and Odin were not his real parents… it had stirred something within him. In the aftermath he had been angry and confused and… lost. There was no place where he really belonged. His biological parents had abandoned him. And Odin and Frigga had lied to him. They had betrayed him.

After that he had doubted and questioned everything. Himself, his place in the world and the role Asgard played in his life. Was he really one of the monsters his- Odin had always warned him off?

He had concluded that, for Odin, he had always only been political leverage and little more. Odin hadn't been his biological father and he hadn't cared for him either. His cruel punishment for Loki's crimes on Midgard and how Odin had called him Laufeyson were everything Loki needed to know his conclusion had been correct. These people weren't his family and he had convinced himself that he cared about them as little as they cared about him.

But now, all of his questions resurfaced, and they were answered with a surprising clarity. With growing panic, he realized that no matter how the Æsir felt about him, he did still regard Asgard his home and Frigga, Thor, and yes, even Odin, his family. Even if they did not feel the same. And the Other was right. Watching them suffer and die was the worst kind of punishment and he would prefer any type of physical pain over even just the dread he now felt.

Guilt, panic and fear mingled in his stomach. He tried to calm himself by breathing slowly and deeply, but it barely worked.

Suddenly, he felt energy surge around him and the air in his cell shimmered. Frigga, or at least her projection, stood right in front of him.

She looked weary, like she always did ever since he had been arrested.

"Mother," Loki jumped up, relieved at seeing her unharmed, "how good to see you."

Her tired eyes lit up. "You haven't called me that in a long time, son."

"I was a fool," Loki quickly assured her. "Tell me, how are things in Asgard? How is father? How is Thor?"

Frigga smiled gently at him. "Your father is getting ready for his Odinsleep. Your brother is... dealing with a lot, but I am certain he will manage."

"I wish I could talk with them," Loki said. He had to tread carefully, the guards were all listening. A sideways glance and he saw the Other slowly, almost imperceptibly shaking his head.

Frigga's eyes looked sad again. "They... are hurt, but I am sure they will forgive you, with time. Don't think that you are forgotten." She took a step towards him, worry etched into her features. "How are you? I can tell something is amiss, and I've been told that you barely eat and hardly sleep."

Loki took a deep breath. There really wasn't anything his mother didn't notice.

Before he could even begin to explain anything, his mother's gaze drifted off into the distance. "One of the guards is calling for me, darling. Let me just tell them that I'll be with them in a few minutes."

"No," Loki hastily brought out, feeling his throat tighten, "there is no need to worry about me. Do whatever they want you to do." Was this a real guard or one of Thanos' men? Was this a warning?

Surely his mother would be able to look through any concealment, just like Loki had.

"Alright," Frigga replied. "I will talk to you again later today. I love you, son." With one last smile, his mother's illusions shimmered out of existence and Loki sincerely hoped that this was not the last time he would see her.

The way he saw it, this "guard wanting to talk to her" - situation could mean three things:

Number one, an ordinary guard really did want to talk to her and nothing was amiss. Number two, one of Thanos' men wanted to talk to her or had sent a regular guard to talk to her, to warn Loki of raising suspicions and to show him how he had taken over more than the prison already. Number three, the attack was about to begin.

Number one was obviously preferable, but Loki hardly ever was this lucky. Number two, although worrying, meant he still had time and it was best to do what they wanted of him for now. But if number three was the case, his family and everything he held dear were about to suffer because of his mistakes and there was nothing he could do about it.

In any case, he needed to warn someone. He needed to get out of his cell. But he had been there for about six months and had so far not been able to detect any type of flaw in the system that would allow him to escape and it was most definitely not for a lack of trying. The walls were impenetrable from the inside. The guards knew about his illusions, and even if he could get them to open the cell, they always checked whether what they were seeing was real.

He was trapped, unable to do anything to stop the inevitable destruction that would befall his home and family, unable to fight by their side to even try to repent for the doom he had brought upon them. The cell seemed smaller and stuffier than ever before and he felt a weight on his chest that made it almost impossible to breathe. He thought of all the things the Other might do to his mother and began to feel dizzy. Cold sweat ran down his back.

But, in the midst of all his frantic musing, he suddenly did have an idea of how to get out of his cell. It was truly crazy, had a slim chance of actually working and the idea alone made his blood freeze. But it was the only warning, the only chance he could give the others. Perhaps it was even his one chance at something akin to redemption.

He walked over to a small, round table. His mother had made sure that he had some... amenities the other prisoners were not granted. Small tokens of her generosity were scattered around the table's surface. Among them a book, a metal cup and an elegantly formed glass bottle.

Before he could change his mind, he reached for the bottle with a trembling hand, his fingers wrapping around the cold glass. He brought it up in front of him and then smashed it down on the table. The water spilled on the ground and the pieces of the bottle flew in all directions. The small table did not withstand the force and, after its legs broke, tilted over.

"What are you doing?" hissed the Other, alarmed by the sudden noise.

Ignoring the churning in his stomach, Loki grinned at the Other, and he was sure he must have looked like a madman. Perhaps he was one. "Nothing you'll be able to stop."

He reached for a sharp looking glass shard, not caring that it cut his fingers, blood running down his hand. He took one last deep breath, trying to control his magic, willing it to not aid, but suppress his body's natural healing abilities, before he brought it down on his left wrist. The shard dug deep into his flesh and the blood came pouring out.

With a satisfied grin he looked into his guards shocked eyes, who stood there with an open mouth. Without turning his gaze away from the Other, he drew the shard up all the way to his elbow, cutting open his whole arm. Blood was gushing out and running down, forming a puddle on the ground.

He ignored the pain, his frantically beating heart and shallow breathing, and willed his magic to not heal himself, before he took the shard into his other, now violently shaking hand, to repeat his actions.

By now the Other was shouting. What, Loki couldn't tell. He felt dizzy and only heard a ringing sound in his ears. His vision began to blur, but he couldn't stop now. If he did, he would just fall unconscious and his body would start to heal his wounds. Seriously injuring a Frost Giant was rather difficult. He brought the shard to his throat, both hands now shaking violently, and slid it from one side to the other, effectively cutting his windpipe in two.

He fell to the ground, wringing for air, feeling as if he were drowning. Perhaps he was. Drowning on his own blood.

The pain was unbearable, but he was satisfied non the less. The guards were already at the door, rushing towards him. They had to bring him to a Healer. Prisoner or not, he was still a citizen of Asgard and regarded a son of the king. Best case scenario, he would survive and wake up in a hospital where he could tell someone, anyone, about what was going on. Worst case scenario, he died. But if it meant his people were warned, or even just suffered less, it was a price that he surprisingly found he was more than willing to pay.

So, knowing that his plan would work, one way or the other, he finally stopped fighting the pain and the fatigue and drifted into unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is the Other real or just in Loki's head? Will Loki die or survive? At one point during writing I thought the story should end here. An open end, ambiguous in regard to whether Loki has lost his mind or is extremely clever, whether he lives or dies.
> 
> What did you think of this chapter? If you find it too dark, I completely understand. Leave a review to let me know.


	3. Catharsis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki wakes up in the healing chambers and encounters Thor and Sif.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to everyone who has been reading or reviewing my story and who left kudos.
> 
> Read, enjoy and review :)

When he came back to his senses, and he was rather surprised that he did, he was lying in one of the healing chambers of the palace.

 _Interesting_ , Loki thought,  _not the prison, not the hospital, but the palace_.

He was even more surprised to see his brother sitting by his side, staring right at him. It was hard to discern how Thor was feeling. He looked wary, angry and tired, all at the same time. There was also something else that Loki couldn't quite put his finger on.

"I see, you have finally awoken," Thor growled.

Loki slowly sat up, every part of his body aching. With some annoyance he noticed that he was chained to the bed. "T-thor," he croaked, surprised at how hoarse his voice sounded.

"What were you thinking?" Thor barked. "What kind of trick are you playing? Haven't you had us suffer enough? Do you want to kill mother? You caused her a panic attack!"

Loki inhaled sharply, which made his whole chest and throat feel on fire.  _Kill mother?_  "Quite the opposite, brother," he rasped.

Thor stood up, towering over Loki. "Is it brother now? I distinctly remember how you told me, not too long ago, that you had no brother."

Loki winced. "I was a fool," he whispered hoarsely, coughing a few times. "But you have come. You are here."

"Of course, I am here!" roared Thor, then continued more softly, "no matter what you say, you are still, and will always be, my brother. I care for you, and so do mother and father." With a sigh Thor slumped into the seat next to Loki's bed. The anger seemed to leave him and now he just seemed tired.

Loki was overcome by a wave of emotions. "Six months, and you never once visited." He'd meant for it to sound mocking, as if he did not care. As if he would not care if Thor really gave up on him for good. But he somehow did not succeed. He hated to have his feelings exposed in such a way. He hated how vulnerable he must seem, but he was weak, tied to a bed, stripped of his magic and in desperate need of help.

Thor looked at him, his eyes weary. "Because I was angry with you. If you hadn't the emotional depth of a rock, you might be able to realize that people can be incredibly mad and still care for someone at the same time. I would have come, eventually. And father did not plan to imprison you forever. Just until you have learned your lesson and we weren't quite so angry anymore."

Thor took a glass of water from the nightstand and helped Loki, whose hands were both tied down, drink. After that, they stared at each other.

"You are still angry?" Loki finally asked, not knowing what else to do with the sudden declaration of brotherly love. He found the concept of hating and loving someone at the same time baffling, but also intuitively understood what Thor had meant.

"Angrier than before, I would say," Thor snarled, "What were you thinking? You almost..." he trailed off. "But you must have known this would not work," his gaze softened, "You are not truly this desperate, are you?"

"Desperate?" Loki echoed. "Perhaps. I saw no other way."

"What are you talking about?" Thor raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Loki had always been able to read his brother rather easily, but right now he was like an intricate puzzle Loki was unable to solve. He seemed angry, but was he angry because he thought Loki was playing tricks on them or because he thought he had attempted suicide? He also saw fear on his brother's face. Fear and hope. But was he afraid of his brother escaping or something else? Perhaps Thor did not know how to feel and that was why his facial expression was so hard to read.

But it did not matter. He would warn him and then they could do something about the Other and send Loki back to the dungeon, where he would for once be able to enjoy the quiet solitude.

"There are," he looked around the room, making sure no one was there, before his gaze settled on Thor, "enemies within Asgard… They have killed and replaced some of the guards."

Thor studied his brother, his expression guarded. "You are delirious. Heimdall would-"

"Heimdall can't see everything," Loki hissed, ignoring his burning throat. "Especially not if sorcery is involved."

"Wouldn't you know all about that?" growled Thor.

"Brother," Loki sighed. He should have known Thor would not believe him so easily. "You have to believe me," he looked Thor in the eyes, trying to look as sincere as he could. "There are enemies within Asgard and they are posing as guards."

"Why should I trust you?" Thor asked, sounding wary and tired.

Loki sighed again. "I am too exhausted to fight you, brother. My time in prison has shown me that, after all that has happened, I still consider you family, and Asgard home. I know I crossed a line when I attacked Midgard but believe me when I tell you I would not, would never, turn on Asgard."

Thor stayed quiet for a long time after that, just looking at his brother, trying to judge the sincerity of his words. Finally, he said, "I don't entirely trust you, but I am willing to believe you. Just… if this turns out to be a trick of yours, don't mock me for believing there is still good left in my brother."

The words made Loki cringe, but he nodded his head.

"So, tell me: What exactly happened?"

Then, the door to the healer's room opened, and Lady Sif walked in. Or someone who looked like Lady Sif, Loki wasn't quite sure. The chains that tied him to his bed also seemed to control his magic, his head ached, and his vision was still a bit clouded.

As soon as Loki saw her he knew he was screwed. There was no way Thor was going to believe him over her. And no matter whether she was real or not, she would convince Thor not to trust him.

"Ah, Lady Sif," Thor smiled, "How good to see you. To what do we owe this pleasure?"

"I just wanted to see how Loki was doing, for old time's sake. And to see how you were holding up. It is horrible, the Queen  _and_  the King  _incapacitated_ , leaving Asgard so…  _defenseless_. I hope… nothing will happen to them."

Although directed at Thor, she kept her eyes on Loki while she said them, and Loki felt a familiar panic rise within him. This was not Lady Sif. Her words were deliberate and clearly a threat, Loki was sure, meant to keep him from talking.

Thor for his part seemed to be oblivious to what was going on. "Regarding that, Loki just wanted to tell me something, right, brother?"

Loki slowly nodded his head, keeping his eyes on Sif. "Right… brother."

"Really?" Sif asked, sitting down on his bed, her hand casually resting on the hilt of her sword, "do tell."

"N-nice to see you… Sif," Loki stammered, keeping his eyes on her, searching frantically for a way out of this mess, painfully aware of the fact that she had positioned herself between Loki and Thor.

"Good to see you awake and…  _well_ , Loki," she replied.

"Loki was just about to tell me about enemies infiltrating Asgard," Thor pressed on, seemingly unaware of any tension in the room.

Sif laughed, still keeping her eyes trained on Loki. "Enemies? Infiltrating Asgard? I am sorry, but I think your brother is either losing his sanity or he is playing you for a fool."

"It can't hurt to hear him out, can it?" asked Thor defensively.

"Right," she drawled, "it can't…  _hurt_."

Loki stared at Thor, praying to the Norns that his dim-witted brother would for once be able to read the signs.

But as always, luck was not with him. "He talked about sorcerers in Asgard, posing as guards. Right, brother?"

Loki just gulped. He was most definitely not used to being so out of control.

"Are you sure it is wise to listen to him?" Sif asked, before Loki could say anything. Her eyes settled on Thor now, her gaze showing a sickening amount of fake concern. "He has faked his death before, maybe he is trying to do so again. He cannot be trusted."

Thor had his eyebrows wrinkled, eyes wandering from Loki to Sif and back. Loki was losing him again.

"What lies has he told you?" Lady Sif continued. "Listen to me, he will betray you. You cannot believe a word he says."

"That is a little harsh, don't you think?" croaked Loki, feeling the panic welling up inside of him, threatening to overwhelm him.

"He just needed a way to get your attention," Sif continued. "He's always done so, and he's always used cheap tricks to achieve his goals. And every time he got the attention - got your attention - there was a dagger waiting for those who were foolish enough to trust him. Perhaps he appears changed on the surface, but beneath that, there has always been-"

"Brother," Loki started, deciding that subtlety would get him nowhere, not when the Other knew exactly how to pull the strings to make Thor dance to his tune. "This is not Sif."

"What are you talking about?" Thor asked, looking at Loki with a frown.

"Don't listen to him," said Sif. "Whatever game he is playing, do not play along."

Loki closed his eyes. This was the end. Thor would never believe him over the supposed Lady Sif, and Loki was weak, could not use his powers, and was unable to move his hands. They would kill Thor and Odin and Frigga, and there was nothing he could do to stop them.

"I am sorry," Loki mumbled. And he was surprised that he meant it.

But just like in the cell, when all hope seemed lost, an idea came to him. He gathered all of his strength, shifted on his bed, and kicked Sif off it.

Caught by surprise, she toppled to the ground.

Loki had made a gamble – if this was a shapeshifter, he was in real trouble, but if the fake Sif was an illusion covering a real person, the impact should be enough to break it.

This time, he was lucky. It had been an illusion. Where the image of Sif should have been, was now a blue skinned woman.

"Loki, wh-"

Before Thor could finish his sentence, she had stood up, drawn her sword and risen it above her head. Loki wasn't quite sure who she was about to kill, him or Thor, and he would never find out, as Thor had thrown a dagger into her face.

The woman with dark blue skin and hair fell to the ground.  _Proxima Midnight_ , Loki thought upon closer inspection, as relief washed over him.

"One of mine?" Loki asked, referring to the dagger, stuck in her face. He had always had trouble dealing with such serious situations, using diversion and jokes to cope.

"I was just keeping them save for you," Thor shrugged, keeping his eyes on the dead woman on the ground.

"Can I have them back?"

"Not yet," Thor smirked. "It seems you have been truthful."

"It happens every once in a while."

Thor shook his head, trying to wrap his head around everything that had happened. "Even though the situation is dire, I must admit I am quite relieved that what you have done has neither been a suicide attempt nor a trick in incredibly bad taste," he smiled weakly at Loki. "Now I'd really like to know what's going on here."

Loki took a deep breath. For the first time since he had noticed the Other's presence in the prison was he able to somewhat relax.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can imagine Thor's side of the story. Sitting somewhere in the castle with his mother and father, when a guard comes in and informs them of what happened. Frigga breaking down in tears. Odin breaking down like in the first Thor movie, falling into Odin sleep. Thor rushing to his brother's side. First he is worried and scared. There are guards with Loki (are they real?) who he kicks out right away because he needs to be alone with his brother. He sits by his side, shocked, devastated, scared and full of guilt. But as time goes on and it is becoming clearer that Loki will pull through, he starts to question everything, and he becomes angry... But he also wants to believe Loki so desperately, wants to believe he is a good guy on the inside.
> 
> I hope I managed a realistic scene between brothers. A lot of the stories that deal with suicide attempts have all the other characters be guilty, sad and understanding, but oftentimes in situations like these the involved parties show a rainbow of emotions, different in every individual. I've found that shock and anger are often prominent.
> 
> I love the many different paths this story could take at every turn. Loki has not imagined things, but what if he did? If he really was just imagining things? Maybe he could have woken up with a healer and a guard in the room, imagining they were fake he would kill all of them somehow. But I love Loki too much to do any of that...
> 
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know in a review.


	4. Comic Relief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor and Loki talk, then they try to come up with a plan to stop the Other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Read, enjoy and review :)

Thor shook his head, trying to wrap his head around everything that had happened. "Even though the situation is dire, I must admit I am quite relieved that what you have done has neither been a suicide attempt nor a trick in incredibly bad taste," he smiled weakly at Loki. "Now I'd really like to know what's going on here."

Loki took a deep breath. For the first time since he had noticed the Other's presence in the prison was he able to somewhat relax.

He could feel the strength returning to him, slowly but steadily, as his body began to heal, but it was still exhausting to speak. "In my cell I have noticed a… strange aura surrounding some of the guards. It turns out, lackeys of Thanos have used illusions to replace the real ones-"

"Who is Thanos?" Thor interrupted. Some things never change, Loki mused.

"A... mad titan... He wants all the infinity stones and gave me the scepter to get him the Tesseract…"

Thor stared at his brother. "So, I was right?"

"What?"

"This whole madness on Midgard wasn't your idea," he stated more than asked, looking very smug as he did so.

"Yes," breathed Loki, wondering when his oblivious-to-everything brother had become so observant. To say that Thanos had been responsible for everything he had done on Midgard would be a crude oversimplification, but he didn't have the energy to delve deeper into the topic or fight Thor on the specifics. "Now Thanos wants to punish me for not fulfilling my end of the bargain…"

Thor's eyes darkened. "Hence, all of this is your fault? Again?"

"Don't flatter me. He would have come for the Tesseract sooner or later anyways," Loki replied flatly. Probably later, Loki's mind added, and less viciously.

"What does he want with the stones?"

"Wipe out half of the universe," Loki deadpanned.

Thor's expression, if such a thing was possible, soured even more. "And you were working for him?"

"I wasn't going to give him the Tesseract, obviously," Loki huffed indignantly. "Who do you think I am?"

"A fool," replied Thor without missing a beat. "Half the universe?"

Loki hesitated for a second. "Fifty-fifty." Verbalized it sounded even worse than it had in his head.

Thor stared at him uncomprehendingly. "… Why?"

"Cosmic balance or some such nonsense. He thinks it will solve all problems. You know - over-population, hunger,…" he trailed off.

"Asgard does not suffer such problems. This would not help us," Thor interjected.

Loki did not point out that he thought, between the two of them, 50% less would solve a lot of Asgard's problems. "Of course not," he said, instead.

"And this," Thor gestured at Loki and then at the room, "was...?"

"The only way I could warn you," Loki finished his sentence. "Admittedly, I've had better plans in the past."

Thor sighed in relief. "What should we do to stop him?" he then asked.

"Just tell father about it. He will know what to do."

Thor hesitated.

"What?"

"You know… after news of your… well… he fell into-"

"Don't," Loki tried to hold up a hand, but found that the shackles prevented him. "Don't say it." Had there ever been a more stupid, inconvenient thing than Odinsleep? Loki believed more and more that it was their father's way of avoiding responsibility. He still resented him for falling into Odinsleep right when Loki had found out about his true parentage, right when he would have truly needed a father to be there for him.

"For such a powerful being, he really can't handle stress very well," Loki finally sighed. He ignored all feelings that surfaced at the thought of the Allfather being so deeply affected by Loki's well-being.

"Indeed," his brother chuckled. "Then what do you suppose we should do?"

"You are asking me?" Loki asked, amused. Now that someone else knew about what was going on and the future of Asgard was not his sole responsibility anymore, the situation did not feel quite as hopeless. "Since when am I the deputy king left in charge when Odin is gone? No, dear brother, your majesty, this is your problem now."

"But every king needs an advisor," replied Thor.

"I have been degraded to advisor now? Oh, how the mighty have fallen." Loki mocked. Thor was alright when in need of brute strength and foolish bravery, but when it came to tactics and strategy, Loki would always be the person to turn to.

"Alright," he finally sighed. "Step one: untie me."

Thor raised an eyebrow. "Maybe I should do this on my own."

"Oh yes, of course," Loki sighed. He could not blame his brother for his hesitation. Freeing a prisoner was considered high treason. But still, his brother needed him. "I'm sure you'll be able to tell who a real guard is, and who is using illusions to make themselves look like guards."

Thor sighed in defeat. "Do you promise to not try anything?"

"If my promises meant anything, I would. But since they don't, you'll just have to hope for the best."

Thor sighed again, rolled his eyes and opened the restraints put on Loki.

"Great," Loki rubbed his hands together. The shackles had also restrained his magical abilities, just as his cell had, but now he could feel the power surge through his body and the pain he had woken up to vanished almost instantly. He cast a few healing incantations.

"Feeling better?" Thor asked warily.

"Much," Loki grinned, getting out of bed. "Now, let's save Asgard."

"So, there is actually a step two to your plan?"

"Of course. Let me just concentrate for a second." Loki closed his eyes to feel for the presences of any non-Æsir in Asgard – besides himself, of course. When he opened his eyes again, he found Thor looking at him expectantly. "There is one standing in front of this room, five in the dungeons waiting for my return, and four are moving through the palace. I'd say we first take out the one outside, then stop the four in the palace, save the Tesseract and after that, the ones in the prison shouldn't be too difficult to handle."

Thor nodded his head and pointed at the door. "That's where the one supposedly guarding us is standing?"

"A little to the left," Loki muttered with a raised eyebrow.

Thor moved his hand a bit further to the left and opened it. A few seconds later, a bloody Mjolnir came crashing through the door and landed in Thor's hand.

"Sneaky," Loki breathed, peering through the Mjolnir-shaped hole in the door to find an unconscious opponent on the ground, "I like it." He opened the door, took the shackles that had been used to restrain him and put them on the unconscious man. "Why Mjolnir and not Gungnir, though, your majesty?"

Thor shrugged. Looking at his hammer he said, "I think I need more practice wielding Gungnir to be as effective with it as I am with Mjolnir."

Loki smirked but did not comment.

"Now we have to come up with a plan to stop the others," Thor said.

"A plan? Strategy?" Loki grinned. "This is so unlike you, brother. So clandestine. Are you sure you wouldn't rather just punch your way out?"

Thor just glared at him.

"Fine, as you wish. But what happened to "Using one's brain is for those too weak to fight"?" Loki asked, rolling his shoulders to get some feeling into them after being restrained for so long. He felt an urge to go running or physically exerting himself in some other way.

"I never said that," replied Thor, eyeing his brother warily.

"Not in those words, perhaps. But I clearly remember…" Loki trailed off. A wave of his hand and his black hair turned blond. From one second to the other, two Thors were standing in the room. "Knowledge is not power. That's power," Loki raised his now muscled right arm, flexing his biceps.

Thor glowered, but couldn't hide that he was amused.

"The brain is a muscle," Loki continued, "and this is a muscle," he pointed at the still raised arm. "And this is a muscle," he pointed at his other arm. "And they are all muscles," he moved his fingers around his abs. "This is all muscle. So, I am covered in brains and I am more brains than you," he finished, pointing at the real Thor.

Thor's expression was somewhere in-between amused and annoyed. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry I made fun of you for thinking strategically. It was very immature of me. Strategy is not a strength of mine, but I appreciate that it is one of yours."

"Thank you," Loki, back in his own body, said surprised. Thor usually belittled his strengths. This appreciation was new. "I'd say I need a disguise to move through the castle. How do you like this one?"

A shimmering surrounded Loki and suddenly Heimdall stood before Thor.

Thor glanced at his new form. "You're too… squirrely to pull off a convincing Heimdall for more than two minutes."

"Squirrels? You have clearly spent too much time on Midgard. Maybe you'd prefer one of your new friends from there."

Another shimmer and Captain America stood before Thor. "Oh, this is much better. Wow. Costume's a bit much - so tight. But the confidence. I can feel the righteousness surging-"

"Where is all this energy coming from? Weren't you just dying five minutes ago?" Thor interrupted, but he sounded more amused than anything.

His brother shimmered one more time and finally looked like himself again. "I was," he said somberly, "but you don't know what it feels like. The cell has restricted my powers so much, for such a long time. The handcuffs completely nullified them. And now it's like… I don't know how to describe it. It's like every fiber of my being is pulsating with power and it feels amazing."

Thor smiled at his brother. "I understand. When father had banished me to Midgard, the loss of my powers and of Mjolnir had me feel subdued. When I finally got them back… it felt like nothing I've ever felt before." He absentmindedly patted his hammer.

Loki nodded his head.

Thor looked at him, rubbing his chin. "I hate to admit it, but you are correct. You will need a disguise. I doubt I will be able to explain why you are not in the dungeon. But something less conspicuous, if you please."

"As you wish." Loki's body shimmered again and turned into one of the guards from the prison.

Thor glanced at the new form of his brother and then nodded. "Where are the four now?"

"Near the entrance," Loki replied.

Together they put the unconscious man on the bed and Loki cast an illusion to make it look as if it was him lying there. Then they left the room and hurried down the corridor.

"Thor!"

The exclamation was quite a surprise. Before Loki had fully realized that, when rounding a corner, they had run straight into another Sif, Thor had already grabbed her by the throat and pressed her to the wall. His other hand was holding Mjolnir up next to her face.

"What's going on here?" asked a perplexed Sif. She looked shocked and had her hands raised in a placating manner.

Thor looked at her, before he turned his gaze to Loki, silently asking him what to do.

Loki examined this new Sif, but he knew instantly that she was the real deal. He had not sensed any intruders in the area before they had left, and her expression was so utterly shocked, it could only be sincere.

Loki turned his eyes to his brother. He knew, if he told him she was an imposter, he would kill her instantly. He squashed down any mischievous thoughts he had as well as the feelings this absolute trust in him evoked. "This is the real Lady Sif."

Thor released her immediately. "I apologize, Lady Sif. There are imposters within the castle. I had to check."

"Impostors?" she asked, perplexed, before her expression turned sour. "Loki," she hissed.

Loki took a step back in alarm. Had she figured him out? How?

"No," Thor said hastily. "I believe him to be innocent of this particular... situation."

"Really?" Sif put her hands to her hips, raising an eyebrow. "You think it is a coincidence that he ends up in the hospital wing the same day you find impostors running around?"

"Not a coincidence, but-"

"And it is not as if it would be the first time he aided enemies into Asgard," Sif continued.

Thor sighed. "You put forward some good arguments, but trust me, my brother is innocent… this time."

"How can you be so certain?" Sif asked. "He probably already broke out of the Healing Room. We should-"

"Lady Sif," Thor firmly interrupted her, "I have already been to the Healing Room," he seemed to struggle with what to say next, "it was Loki who brought the problem to my attention."

Sif looked as if she was about to say something, but Thor interrupted her again. "Guard," he demanded, looking expectantly at Loki.

Loki looked at him in surprise. "No."

"What? No?"

"No," Loki repeated. He was not going to reveal himself to someone who would immediately send him back to his cell.

Thor considered him for a few seconds, before he brought his hammer into view. "There are two ways this can go. I doubt you will like the one I am thinking of right now."

Loki sighed. Why did it always have to be violence with Thor? Why did no one in Asgard appreciate the subtle art of using words to solve problems? "Fine," he muttered and turned back into his proper self.

Sif immediately brought her sword up to his neck. Loki raised his hands in surrender.

"Lower your weapon," Thor commanded, but Sif did not listen. "I know you will not believe a word he says. But I have seen an enemy who looked just like you in the palace just mere moments ago. You do not have to trust him but trust me."

Sif kept her sword trained at Loki, considering his words. Finally, she said, "betray him and I'll kill you," and lowered her sword.

Loki smirked. "It's good to see you too, Sif." Then his body shimmered back into the form of the guard.

Sif glared at Loki. "What do you want me to do, Thor?" she said without looking at him. One thing real and fake Sif had in common.

Thor looked at Loki. Loki closed his eyes and concentrated, then he looked up in alarm. "The four in the palace have split. Two are moving towards Odin's Vault and the other two… towards his bed chamber."

Thor groaned. "Alright. Sif, gather the Warriors Three and protect the Vault. These people look like Æsir, but they are not. Do not let them fool you."

Sif nodded her head, threw Loki one last suspicious glance and left in the Vault's direction.

"Loki, you and I will head for the other two."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N. I felt like this story needed some comic relief. It also made sense because I feel like humor is Loki's way of coping with stress, and it's what he did in Thor: The Dark World after being freed. Some of the dialogue was obviously stolen from that one. The muscle-brain thing is from the youtube video "Thor: Ragnarok - Thor and Darryl are back in hilarious new promo" - I saw someone mention in the comments that this was probably what Loki's childhood looked like and I find myself agreeing. This was most definitely Loki's childhood.
> 
> If you liked this chapter, let me know with a review.


	5. Get Help!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki and Thor confront the Other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments and kudos :)
> 
> Read and enjoy :)

_Sif glared at Loki. "What do you want me to do, Thor?" she said without looking at him. One thing real and fake Sif had in common._

_Thor looked at Loki. Loki closed his eyes and concentrated, then he looked up in alarm. "The four in the palace have split. Two are moving towards Odin's Vault and the other two… towards his bed chamber."_

_Thor groaned. "Alright. Sif, gather the Warriors Three and protect the Vault. These people look like Æsir, but they are not. Do not let them fool you."_

_Sif nodded her head, threw Loki one last suspicious glance and left in the Vault's direction._

_"Loki, you and I will head for the other two."_

Loki also nodded his head, although less enthusiastically.

Thor hurried off, Loki trotted after him.

"Mother said she wanted to visit father," Thor finally said.

Loki nodded. He had sensed her with the impostors. "I cannot tell what is going on in there. There are four people, but beyond that... There is so much sorcery at work... Do not take anything at face value and do not do anything rash. Let's walk in, assess the situation. Pretend you do not know anything is amiss."

Thor nodded his head. He did not need to voice the dread he felt. It was apparent in his eyes and Loki was sure the expression was mirrored in his own face.

Once they reached the chamber they immediately noted that the door was open, which was unusual.

They looked at each other before they hurried into the dark room, which was only dimly lit through a few braziers.

Odin was sleeping on a huge golden bed in the middle. Frigga was sitting by his side, holding his hand.

"My son," she said quietly, turning around when they entered. Her eyes darted to the guard next to him, not questioning his presence. "It is good to see you."

Loki had a hard time discerning what was really going on here. He knew that four people were in the room, but there was so much magic at work that he could not know for sure what was going on. All he knew was that something was not right. And he was quite concerned. Several possibilities flew through his mind. The scene could be real with the two others hidden behind illusions. The whole thing could be an illusion. Either Odin or Frigga or both could be illusions.

"Mother," Thor said, sounding uncertain. "Is everything alright?"

"Oh yes," she smiled, but something about her smile felt wrong. "Could you, perhaps, bring me a glass of water?" she asked.

"We are not leaving," Loki said. It was either an illusion of his mother and she wanted to get them away to keep them save, or it was an illusion by the enemies to keep them from interfering. Either way, Loki was most certainly not going to leave the room.

"Please," Frigga breathed, seemingly unsurprised by the fact that the guard had answered her question.

Thor began to shake his head and Frigga smiled at them sadly. "I am glad to see you, but at the same time I wish you were not here," she said, and vanished.

The entire room shimmered, and the scene changed. Signs of a fight could be observed everywhere one looked and a dead guard lay on the ground. Odin was still lying in his bed, but he had a knife stuck in his stomach and a vile creature with dark grey skin next to him, one hand wrapped around the knife. Slumped down in the middle of the room, her hands tied in front of her, was Frigga. She had a wound on her forehead and a drop of blood was running down her cheek. The sight made wild fury bubble in his stomach, soon engulfing his whole being.

The Other, now in his own form, was standing in the middle of the room, a sword in his hands. "I knew you would come," he drawled, addressing Loki, "and you are just in time to watch your dear father die a slow and painful death." He grinned, "and after that – who would you prefer to see dying first? Your mother or your brother?"

"Step away from her and we might show you mercy later," Thor proclaimed, holding on tightly to Mjolnir.

Loki glared at the Other, but he was momentarily distracted from his rage by the impression that something was still off about the scene in front of him. As it had been the case in his cell, the impression was instinctive, and he could not quite pinpoint what had caused it. He left an illusion of the guard he was impersonating standing next to Thor and invisibly made his way towards his mother.

The Other turned around towards Frigga, extended his sword and slowly traced the side of her face with it. "Oh, it will not be me who will be begging for mercy," he laughed devilishly. He looked over his shoulder at Thor and the guard, smiling wickedly, while the blade ran along their mother's neck.

The God of Thunder acted within seconds, throwing one of Loki's daggers at the Other.

"No," Loki yelled, shimmering into existence once again, while the fake guard disappeared. He jumped towards the Other, as if to protect him from the flying dagger, but went right through him. It had been another illusion, the Other was standing right behind Frigga, not in front of her.

Instead of hitting Frigga between the eyes, the dagger hit Loki square in the chest, and he went down in front of his mother.

"No," Frigga breathed weakly, moving towards her injured son, pulling him onto her knees and sneaking her tied hands around his neck to cradle him. "No, no, no," she cried out, tears falling into his hair as her head buried into it, "not my son, no."

Loki tried to sit up, shielding Frigga as well as he could with his own body. Searing pain took hold of his chest and he panted heavily. He felt weak and dizzy and while he tried to sit up, his vision began to blur.

"Loki," he could discern Thor shouting through his haze, but it was hard to concentrate. Such a wound wound not usually affect him so, but the time in the cell and the events of the last days had taken a toll on his body and he had not much blood to spare.

The Other laughed at the shocked expression on one brother's and the pained expression on the other brother's face. His laughter was a deeply unsettling noise, sending shivers down Loki's spine. "Killed by one you consider family. I could not have planned a more beautiful punishment myself. I would love to see how this destroys him, but I am afraid he will not live that long. But perhaps," the Other mused, "perhaps it would not affect him at all, Jotun runt that you are," at that Loki flinched, "a parasite, a mons-"

"How dare you?" roared Thor, taking a few steps towards the Other. Thor's expression had by now changed from one of utter shock to one of pure, undiluted fury. "How dare you call my brother such vile things? How dare you hurt my family?" He took a step towards the Other, holding Mjolnir in a tight grip.

"Ah," sighed the Other, "I would not do that if I were you. One more step and  _my_  brother," he motioned towards the guy standing next to Odin, his hands still clasping the knife, Loki had followed the motion with his head but the movement made him feel dizzy and sick, "will make you half an orphan." He chuckled. "Do not worry, I will take care of the other half."

Thor looked murderous but stayed where he was. Even through the haze in his head, Loki knew that Thor's fighting style was not meant for such close quarters and there was no way he could kill the two enemies without getting Odin killed.

They needed to get them away from their parents.

Loki gathered all the strength he had left, ignoring the metallic taste in his mouth, and concentrated on the image of Sif and the Warriors Three. They materialized just outside of the chamber. He let their illusions charge into the room and towards the member of the Black Order close to Odin. Loki did not have the energy to make them very sophisticated or have them talk. But even like that it seemed to be enough.

The Other took a step forward. "No!" he yelled. But it was too late. The illusion had not fooled the Other, but his companion seemed to have fallen for it. He ripped the knife out of Odin to defend himself against the warriors. He charged forward, only to have them disappear when his knife should have hit the fake Fandral.

With both opponents a few feet away from Frigga and Odin, Thor was finally presented with the opportunity to fight them without having to worry about his parents.

And unlike Loki's invasion on Midgard, this battle truly was glorious and not lengthy.

Loki would have loved nothing more than to assist Thor in his fight, but battling unconsciousness was keeping him occupied, especially after the amount of energy his magical distraction had taken.

"I... am... sorry," Loki muttered to his mother. Every word burned in his lungs and he was struggling for air. But he meant them. For the first time he truly felt sorry for the destruction and pain he had caused his family. "You should not... have to worry... about me so much, mother."

"Shush, son," she said gently, "do not waste energy." Her hands wandered to the dagger in his chest, applying pressure to stop the bleeding. Loki could feel her hands warm. She was using her magic to slow down the blood loss. The warmth from her hands spread, filling his chest and soon his whole body, reducing the pain he felt.

In the background he could hear the sound of a body hitting the ground. He turned his head to see the Other fall right next to his already downed companion. But his view was soon obscured by his brother's face.

Thor had knelt down next to them, putting a reassuring hand on his mother's back and eyeing the wound with worry. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Fine," Loki managed to mutter.

"Liar," breathed Thor, but smiled softly.

Loki gasped, "we're fine... Make sure Odin is, or Asgard is truly doomed with you as a king."

"Loki," Frigga chastised.

Thor grinned. "I see you are on the road to recovery." He got up and hurried over to their father.

They were soon joined by Lady Sif, the Warriors Three, a few guards and healers.

Most of them rushed to Thor's side to aid the still sleeping king.

 _He would sleep through Ragnarök_ , Loki mused, while one of the healers helped his mother with his own wound.

A healing stone, some medication to replenish his blood, and soon he was as good as new. Still, he remained sitting on the ground. The immediate threat was over, he was relatively unscathed, and he saw no reason to draw anyone's attention to his person. His mother still held him in her arms and he let her.

Eventually, however, Thor and his cohort approached them. Thor sat down in front of Loki and Frigga. Sif and the Warriors Three stood behind him.

Thor looked thoroughly pleased with himself. "Father will be alright," he announced, smiling at both of them.

"That is good to hear," Loki said. He could feel his mother squeeze his arm reassuringly. "What about the remaining guards in the prison?"

"They do not know they have been found out," Thor began. "I will think about a way to use this to our advantage. Perhaps we can capture and question them. Find out how they got into the palace in the first place and what happened to the real guards."

Loki nodded his head. His brother really had become more sensible.

Thor looked at Loki, observing him, assessing the situation and considering his next move. It was an odd sight to Loki and another testament to how much his brother had changed over the last year.

Loki desperately wanted to know what Thor had planned for him but struggled to voice his thoughts. For once, he was not sure what to say. A rare occurrence. The air was heavy with unresolved emotions that Loki neither wanted to think about nor address. Gratitude, guilt, anger,... trust and distrust - there was a lot that probably should be discussed, but none of the people present were ready to. Sooner or later, however, they would have to talk. It would be difficult and unpleasant. Loki would have to decide whether he wanted to revert to his old ways or whether he was willing to expose vulnerabilities and let go of the past. No matter how much they had talked in the Healing Room, Loki knew he was not ready to lay everything bare. Not yet.

"Assuming you are not going to imprison me within the next few minutes," Loki eventually began and the thought of actually having to go back there frightened him more than he would like to admit, "I might have an idea on how to go about this."

Thor studied his brother, before he sighed. "What you have done for Asgard today... it went above and beyond the call of duty," he put his right hand on Loki's shoulder, "you risked your own life to protect others. I cannot exonerate you, this has to be a decision made by the Allfather, but I will not put you back into that cell. If you stay around long enough, and I hope that you do, I will speak on your behalf with father. Right now, I would rather hear your plan."

Loki squashed down the emotional turmoil in his stomach and smiled at his brother.

"Just tell me, how much will I hate it?" Thor asked.

Loki laughed. "Not at all, brother. You will love it."

Thor raised an eyebrow.

"I am the one who will despise it," Loki offered as a means of further explanation.

Thor grinned. "You don't mean...?"

Loki groaned. "Yes, I do mean..."

Loki did not have to finish his sentence. The mad twinkle in his brother's eyes told him that he already knew what he was talking about.

"Get help," Thor grinned like a child.

"A variation, of sorts," Loki said unhappily.

Half an hour later Thor walked into the prison, his right hand on Loki's shoulder, his left holding Mjolnir. Behind them entered the Warriors Three and Sif.

"Guards," Thor proclaimed as if he hadn't already had the attention of everyone in the room, "I am in need of your assistance." He smiled and Loki felt that he was enjoying this far too much. "This traitor tried to sneak out of Asgard. I am here to bring him back to his cell. If you would be so kind, could you open his cell door for me and stand guard beside it, so he cannot try to escape."

The guards looked at each other and did as they were told. One of them opened the door and the others all positioned themselves in front of it.

"Perfect," Thor grinned, Loki tensed, "just perfect."

**The End**

**Kind of...**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be the end. An open end. It could go several ways from here. Thor might slam Loki into the guards, they all fall into the cell, stay in there forever, Odin forgives Loki, they live happily ever after, Ragnarok never happens, Thanos never gets all the Infinity Stones and Infinity War never happens. If you like canon-compliance and are not a fan of happy endings, just imagine that Loki tries to sneak off, Odin and Thor are mad and he is stuck in the cell again and everything happens like it did in the movies. Or maybe he imagined everything. Maybe he died and this is just the musing of a dying man. Or a kind of explanation Thor comes up with after learning of his brother's death.
> 
> I am a sucker for happy endings, though, so I will post an epilogue with some more family conversations. If you do not like that kind of stuff, just imagine the story ended here ;)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this little ficlet. If you did, let me know with a review. If not, tell me why. I am always looking for ways to improve my writing.


	6. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor wants to talk to his brother, Odin wants to talk to his son, and Loki doesn't know what he wants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Read and enjoy :)

Thor had hoped he would be able to talk to his brother once everything had calmed down somewhat. But first, Loki had been with the Healers. When Thor had arrived there, Eir had informed him that Loki had already been released.

Thor only saw Loki again late that day. Asgard had come closer to losing its royal family than it had in the last millennia. News of killed guards and Einherjar, the attack on Odin, Frigga and the princes, and who had saved them, had traveled fast and soon the whole of Asgard celebrated the victorious battle.

The celebration was where he saw Loki again. But he was surrounded by people, being as charming as he could be to both men and women. Lady Sif might still doubt Loki, but the rest of Asgard seemed to hold no grudge. Saving the king and the queen had helped him back into the good graces of even those who had asked for a more severe punishment than imprisonment. Thor was rather surprised to see his brother like this, as Loki was not usually one to enjoy such frivolities. Either he was trying to avoid his family or the time in his cell had led to so much pent-up energy that he forgot about this particular aversion for a while.

Thor let Loki celebrate. He had been in a cell for half a year and then almost died twice within one day. He deserved to enjoy himself. Thor on the other hand did not feel like celebrating, and so retired early, declining Bragi's and Volstagg's offers of mead. Unlike his usual battles which exhausted him physically, this one had been emotionally taxing. The thought that his brother might have committed s- he could not even think the word. It had been bad enough. It had sent his mother into hysterics, and his father into Odinsleep. He was left alone to deal with the fear of losing his brother, and, just like the first time Loki had done something like this, the guilt that it might have been his fault. But once it was clear that he would pull through, there was, next to relief, also anger and doubt. Had it been a trick to get out of prison? Was even his own life just a game to Loki? Did he not care what such a decision would do to their parents? And there was more guilt, for even thinking such things.

Then, of course, once Loki had woken up, everything got worse, and Thor had had to decide whether he trusted his brother or not. In the end, he had. But the decision had not been an easy one. They had fought again, together, and for a few moments it seemed like nothing had changed. And then Thor saw his parents hurt, and unintentionally injured his own brother. It evoked new feelings of gratitude, guilt, and love within him, but they were mingled with the anger and betrayal from his brother's attempts to hurt and kill him.

The next day, Thor went to Loki's old chambers, hoping to be able to talk to him there. Two guards were positioned by the door. His knocking went unanswered, and when he opened the door he could make out two figures lying in Loki's bed, neither of them Loki. He cast them out of the room.

A feeling of dread started to form in his chest. He flung aside the curtain to look onto the balcony, but found it empty as well.

So, Loki had snuck out of his room, if he had ever entered it in the first place. Had he run? Thor clenched his teeth. The thought filled him with unwarranted anger. Loki had not been a prisoner last night, so technically he was free to leave. But Thor had been certain he wouldn't, and had really only offered because he could not bring himself to arrest his brother, least of all when he just risked his own life to save their mother, and because he had thought he would stay. Even after everything that had happened between them, even though he still felt betrayed and angry over Jotunheim and Midgard, he had still somehow thought everything would be alright again, like it used to be, and that he would stay. But then again, perhaps he didn't really know his brother anymore.

His father would probably kill him for letting Loki escape.

With an uneasy feeling he searched the library, his mother's chambers, even those of Odin. Loki was nowhere to be found.

"Have you seen Loki?" he asked his mother, who was sitting next to the still sleeping Odin.

"He's gone?" she asked quietly. She looked older than she ever had, the last days having taken a heavy toll on her.

Thor's shoulders sank a little and he nodded. "I had hoped he was with you… Do you think he… left?"

His mother frowned. "No," she finally said, and sounded more trusting than Thor felt, "I don't. He must have a lot on his mind. Be patient with him. If you find him, let him know that his father is about to wake up and that he will want to see him. So would I."

Thor nodded and took his leave.

His last hope was Frigga's garden. But even that was empty.

"Loki," Thor breathed exasperatedly. Not a question, not calling him - this was pure frustration. He had lost his brother. Again. He was such a fool. He should not have trusted him. But he so wanted to be able to trust him. Anger mingled in his stomach with shame and disappointment. He had been so sure Loki would stay, would not abuse Thor's show of goodwill.

"What?"

Thor inhaled sharply, turning into the direction of Loki's voice. The air around an empty bench next to a fountain shimmered to reveal his brother lying on his back. Thor exhaled in relief.

"How did you find me?" Loki asked. His arms had been crossed over his forehead, but now he used them to prop himself up to look at Thor questioningly.

"I didn't," Thor admitted, "I thought you had left us."

Loki nodded his head. "I can't say the thought hasn't crossed my mind."

Those words were not what Thor had wanted to hear, but at least they were honest. It was a start.

"Were you hiding from me?"

Loki looked at him curiously. "Not you in particular. But I was… hiding. I wanted to be alone for a moment."

"Didn't look like it yesterday," Thor breathed, and his brother smirked. "Should I leave you on your own then?" He really wanted to talk to him but decided it was best not to push him.

Loki studied him, then sat up, making room on the bench for his brother to sit down. "No," he said.

Thor couldn't help but smile. This was progress. He sat down next to his brother. So many things he wanted to say, so many questions he had. But they just sat in companionable silence.

"It would break mother's heart," Thor finally said, "if you left."

Loki shuddered. "I know."

It would break Thor's heart as well, but he was not going to admit that. His brother did not appreciate such sentiment. "Do you want to stay?" he asked instead.

"Where else would I go?" Loki asked instead of answering the question, not looking at Thor. Loki had his gaze fixed on the fountain, his eyes shimmering blue as they reflected the water. "There's no place where I belong."

"Nonsense," Thor breathed, "you belong here, to your family. This is your home. Things can be like they used to."

Loki sighed, still looking at the fountain and avoiding his brother's gaze. "I would fight you on this, but I really don't have the energy today."

Thor frowned. "Why fight me at all? You said... in the Healing Room you said you still consider me family, and Asgard home. That's what you said."

Loki gulped. "That's how I feel. It does not make it true, but... I am willing to stop fighting you on this. It's not what I meant, anyhow... I wish Asgard no ill. But if I stay here... "things will be like they used to" as you so eloquently put it. I don't want that. These things led to all of this." At "this" he vaguely gestured at their surroundings.

"What led to this?" Thor edged forward on the bench, turning his upper body towards Loki. He waited until his brother finally looked at him. "You have to tell me, because... Do you remember, right before my coronation? Before... everything... You said to me... You called me brother and friend. You said, "even though I am envious at times, never doubt that I love you". Do you remember that?"

Loki winced, but nodded.

"I want to make things right. You are angry. With me. You must be. That's what I never understood. How you could say such words to me and at the same time plan to sabotage my coronation?" He had been wondering about this ever since he first figured out what his brother had done, but had yet to reach a satisfying conclusion. "Why start a war w-"

"I did not," Loki hissed, glaring angrily at Thor, "start a war. That was you. I did everything in my power to stop you from making a colossal mistake, but you ignored me, and belittled me, and disparaged me." As quickly as the rage had filled Loki, it left him again. He looked wary to Thor's eyes, and like he had said more than he wanted to.

"Disparaged? Loki if this is about-"

"My imagined slights, yes," Loki said, "they are not important. Let us talk about something else."

Thor took a few calming breaths. Getting angry would get him nowhere. And if Loki tried to stir the conversation away from it, then it probably was important. "What did I do?" he asked, although he really did not want to hear Loki's delusions of why everything he had done had been Thor's fault.

Loki looked surprised for a second. "Your time on Midgard has changed you."

"For the better, I hope," Thor smiled.

Loki eyed him warily. "You seem more inclined to listen and think before you act or speak." Loki paused, considering his next words. "I did mean those words. I just did not think you were quite ready for the throne."

"Looking back now, I guess you had a point," Thor admitted. "I just wish you had talked to me instead of... you know..."

"I did not think you would listen," Loki admitted. "I always considered you my best friend, but... I am not sure whether you felt the same way. You certainly did not value any of my skills, and never listened to what I had to say."

"Loki-"

"No," Loki raised a hand to stop him from talking.

There was so much Thor wanted to say. But Loki looked serious.

"I did not plan for you to go to Jotunheim. Ruin your coronation? Yes. Make you fight with father? Perhaps. But you going to Jotunheim? It was the last thing I wanted, really, and I did everything I could to stop you. But as I already mentioned, you ignored me and then publicly disparaged me."

"Are you speaking of jests in the presence of our frien-"

"Stop. Stop right there. If there ever was a moment you should really use your new-found ability to think before you speak, it is now."

And that Thor did. He thought back to his previous interactions with Loki and immediately Loki imitating him in the Healing Room came to his mind. Only then had he realized how often he had poked fun at his brother's abilities and how he had apparently not perceived it to be in good fun as it had been meant in. Admittedly, Thor sometimes took a joke too far and wounded his brother. If his words had hurt him, it was probably not a good idea to call them imaginary slights or jests. He had known that imaginary slights was the wrong thing to say the moment he had said it on Midgard, but he had been angry as well. But this could not be what Loki was referring to. Loki seemed to be referring to some specific event and Thor had no idea what he could mean. "I have often belittled you and your strengths in the past. I realize this now, and for that I apologize. I did not do it consciously. We are so very different. Where I take every moment as it comes, you stay in every moment much longer. Sometimes you still think about things I have long forgotten. I take things at face value whereas you do not. I suppose I never considered your point of view and I assumed you would be as forthright if something bothered you as I would have been. You think so much more about your words and the words of others than I do. You must know that if my words offended you, it was not intentional."

"I know," Loki sighed, "and that makes it worse, not better." He took a deep breath. "You used to only belittle me in private, but you started doing it in front of your friends - not our friends, yours - as well."

There were many aspects of that sentence that bothered Thor. He only voiced one, though. "My friends?" Surely you don't mean that, he had wanted to add, but stopped himself. Of course Loki meant it. Not taking him serious was probably just as bad as belittling him. How had he never noticed that he did that?

"Yes, your friends. They committed treason while I was king."

Thor had been so happy to see his friends on Midgard, he had never quite thought about the fact that they must have defied both Odin and Loki to do it. "They did it to help a friend," Thor finally replied.

"Yes," Loki agreed, "that quite proves my point."

Thor did not say anything else to defend his friends. If put like that, they truly had betrayed Loki for Thor.

"This is not about them," Loki continued. "The day you were supposed to become king, that day alone you insulted me in front of Heimdall and your friends. And then, in front of our enemies as well. The king of our enemies, Thor."

"I... I..." _Know your place, brother_. Thor gulped. Loki was right.

"Everyone always thought you better than me. Even you yourself. Well, perhaps it's true. Now we at least know why," Loki said bitterly.

"I am not..." Thor's mind was reeling. Things suddenly started to make more sense. He had always made fun of his brother and apparently Loki had taken these jests more seriously than he had thought. Perhaps because they showed how Thor really, subconsciously thought about him. But was this really what Thor thought? Did he really think he was better than his brother? He thought back on a conversation they had had on Midgard. _I never wanted the throne, I only ever wanted to be your equal._ He had nearly laughed at that back then. It made his stomach churn now. Loki had wanted to be like him and either thought that he was not as good as Thor or that others perceived him as less... and he was right. At least about Thor he had been correct. And then Loki found out about his true origins. That he was a Frost Giant. Something they had always despised and thought of as less. Something they had been scared of as children. Monsters. But that could not be true. If his brother was one of them, then it could not be true that they were monsters.

"I am sorry, Loki. I... I am not better than you. But... I was so angry at Laufey, and you were-"

"Annoying? An obstacle? In your way?" Loki prompted.

"I thought only of myself and my pride and... I was a fool. I thought I was better than everyone else, not just you. I thought I knew better than even our father, and I would have said what I said to my friends as well, had they dared to offer an opposing opinion. It was not personal. It was not intentional. It does not mean you are less... For all the faults I have, dishonesty is not one of them, so believe me when I tell you that I do value you and that I truly am sorry. I have changed. It will not happen again. And I can see now the importance of your skills. My weaknesses are your strengths. A battle can be won with physical strength but to win a war one needs strategy. Asgard needs you, brother. I doubt brute strength will let us defeat this Thanos."

Loki chuckled weakly. "I guess it won't."

Loki looked at his brother for a while, thinking. Thor let him, he did not know what more he could say. He could not remember the last time they had spoken so openly and honestly. Loki was uncharacteristically earnest. For a second Thor was overcome by the fear that he was not really talking to his brother but another illusion of Thanos' lackey. But as quickly as that thought had taken hold of him it left him again. There was no way Thanos would know what Thor had told Loki in front of Laufey. Perhaps it was as Loki had said and he was just too emotionally exhausted to use his tricks and manipulations. He would revert back to his normal self with time. Perhaps things had been bad between them. Maybe they still were. But they were salvageable.

"You truly have changed," Loki finally said, stopping Thor's musing. Loki got up from the bench.

"Where are you going?" Thor asked, getting up as well.

"To Odin," Loki replied. "He must have woken by now."

* * *

 

Loki walked into the Allfather's study uncertainly. How he wished he was as unaffected by all of it as he had always told himself he was.

The Allfather sat at his desk, writing something down. He did not look up until he had finished his sentence. Then he put his stationery away and looked up at Loki.

Fear churned in Loki's stomach. The fear of being sent back into his cell, but also the fear of being rejected yet again. There was anger as well. The Allfather had lied to him, betrayed him and put him into the cell. The combination made him feel quite defensive and he crossed his arms in front of his chest. But he also felt relieved to see the man alive. All three emotions combined a testament of the love he still felt for the man he had once called father.

Odin motioned him to sit down by his desk, his face unreadable.

"Tell me, Loki," he began evenly, "what have you learned during your time in the dungeon? Do you regret what you have done?"

Loki's head perked up. He tried to gauge Odin's facial expression but it was futile. Was he playing games? Was this a test? Loki was not in the mood for any games.

"I regret what it did to Thor and Frigga," he eventually answered honestly. It was the one thing he was truly certain off. His time in the cell, especially with the Other around, had forced him to reconsider everything he knew about himself. He could not hide behind his jokes and illusions like he usually did, but was forced to confront his own feelings completely defenseless.

"Do you not care that you nearly extinguished a whole species?" Odin asked sharply.

"Did you?" Loki challenged, daring him to contradict him. Loki knew that Odin had killed thousands before he had changed his approach and became more diplomatic. Thor had not been much better, he as well had wanted to kill all the Jotnar. At that thought, Loki averted his gaze. "They are all monsters," he continued quietly.

"You honestly believe that?" Odin asked.

"It is what you have taught me."

He knew Odin studied him, could feel his gaze, but Loki refused to look at him. Eventually, he sighed, "I never taught you any such thing. Neither did your mother. But, perhaps, I should have done more to rectify the perception the general public has of them."

"What is there to rectify? Don't tell me you don't think they're all monsters!" his gaze turned back to Odin, glaring.

"I used to," Odin conceded.

"Then why take me? Why not let the little monster die with the rest of its kind?" Loki spat. "Why not crush the monster's head under your boot? It would have spared everyone a lot of trouble."

For a second, Odin's eye looked pained and it calmed Loki somewhat. "Because I changed my mind that day. You changed my mind-" Loki wanted to say something, contradict him, but Odin just raised a hand to keep him quiet. "Yes, I believed all of them to be monsters and I would have killed all of them. But then I found you and I knew that something as fragile and innocent could not possibly be a monster. And if one was not, perhaps the others weren't either. I decided to give you and them a chance and since then you have shown me each and every day that Frostgiants are in no way inferior to us. They can be just as clever as we are, sometimes even more so, and they are just as capable of loving others. I accepted you as my son and that is what you have been to me ever since. Nothing else. I do not regret taking you in and I never have. Now you are trying to prove me wrong and renounce my name and I do not know what to do about it. But let me just make one thing clear - you will not change my mind. You are my son and you are not a monster."

Loki bit his tongue and blinked a few times. He wanted to talk about something, anything, else. "What will you do with me?"

"What do you want me to do?"

"That's not an answer," Loki stated.

"Perhaps it is," Odin replied evenly.

Loki considered the question. What did he want? It was not easy to answer. But he knew what he did not want. "I don't want to go back to the dungeon," Loki finally replied. "I can't." It had not bothered him much before, but now the thought of such small quarters and being so helpless made his chest constrict painfully.

"Will you run?" Odin asked.

Loki shook his head. He had not run when Thor offered him the opportunity the day before, why would he now?

"Will you do anything to harm yourself or anyone in the Nine Realms?"

Loki gave this some thought. The phrasing left no leeway. But he had no desire to revisit Midgard, he preferred to just pretend that Jotunheim did not exist, and he stood no chance against the other realms, nor did he want to harm them. Conveniently, Thanos came from outside of the nine realms. And harming himself? "No," Loki finally muttered.

"Then so be it," Odin said, smiling now.

Loki stared at him disbelievingly. So be it? What did that mean? "Am I forgiven? Am I... free?"

"I think you have learned your lesson. You regret what you have done, at least to some degree. I doubt you will repeat what you have done. You risked your own life for a chance to warn Asgard of a threat. You were ready to sacrifice yourself for your family," Odin said. "I am proud of you, my son."

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Frigga tells Loki in the movies that he is he perceptive about everyone except himself. I guess that is different in this story because of what happened inside his cell. It is easy to pretend he does not care for his family in front of them and perhaps even in front of himself, but when they are in danger and you are alone with your thoughts and have nothing to hide behind... So, I guess he was forced to learn and confront some uncomfortable truths about himself.
> 
> I thought about how he could react afterwards. I think his party-hard first reaction is pretty much a "I don't want to think about any of this" reaction. He could have gone back to denying everyone after that, but he already told Thor that he still considers him his brother, and he admitted it to himself in his cell, so there was no point in denying it now. And I doubt he still had the energy to get mad or use any tricks and manipulations to get rid of Thor. So, that leaves him with honesty. For now, at least. I am pretty sure he will revert back to his old self sooner or later.
> 
> He does not really regret what he did to Earth or Jotunheim for the sake of Jotnar or humans. I don't really see why he would, why his views on this would have been affected by what has happened. He was the king when he attacked Jotunheim, they were at war, they were the enemies, everyone on Asgard thinks they are monsters... And Midgard... I doubt Thor would have cared much before he met Jane. Considering humans only live for around 80 years and Aesir for about 5000... It is as if someone on Earth went to Mars and killed a few alien hamsters there. It is not ok, but most humans would not care. And Odin was not a fan of them either. How he talks about Jane in Thor 2... But Loki regrets what all of his actions did to his family. He won't repeat it and that is something.
> 
> At some point during writing this I thought about having Loki's eyes shimmer blue or in some way indicate he is an illusion... Apparently I like paranoia as a theme. Something to explore in the future, I guess. I do love good plot twists, but I do love a happy ending more.
> 
> This was my first Thor fanfiction and the first multi-chapter fanfiction I actually finished. I hope you guys enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you did not like the ending you are welcome to steal my idea and write your own ending (just let me know as I would love to read it and maybe put in a reference to my story). I always love to hear what you guys think, so let me know with a review.
> 
> All the best,
> 
> Mikill

**Author's Note:**

> I am new to this website (although I have posted this and other stories on FanFiction.Net) and to the Marvel fandom. I haven't read any of the comics (unless you count Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe) and have only watched all the movies once or twice. After watching Infinity War and Deadpool, I had Marvel stuck in my head and I began to read Thor fanfiction... I love how ambiguous Loki is. You could literally write a (MCU) canon compliant ff with him being the most evil, manipulative person imaginable, as well as one in which he is a misunderstood hero who was manipulated by Thanos. I first started out writing a story (IW spoiler!) in which Loki survives IW, but felt it would be too much work to do, the fact that Avengers 4 might change everything discouraged me and I thought there are already so many good stories on in which he survives, that I stopped.
> 
> Then I started this. I hope you like it. There will be 5 more chapters and I will update once a week.
> 
> Let me know what you think :)


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